Principal’s letter apologizes for Hutcherson event

The Mount Si High School principal who invited an outspoken opponent of gay rights to speak at a school assembly apologized for the controversy it created in a letter that avoided a direct reference to homosexuality, P-I reporter Casey McNerthney learned Friday night.

Mount Si principal Randy Taylor welcomed the Rev. Ken Hutcherson to speak Thursday about his personal experience of growing up with racism and how the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave him inspiration.

Hutcherson

But the choice to invite Hutcherson didn’t sit well with at least one teacher. Mount Si teacher Kit McCormick — who questioned how Hutcherson can support human rights if he doesn’t support gay rights — told KING/5 she believes that Hutcherson is not about equality for everyone, rather equality for some people.

In a letter sent Friday to Mount Si parents and guardians, Taylor said “the administration at Mount Si apologizes for how these events have unfolded and the impact on our students.”

He also apologized to Hutcherson, who was in the news last week for launching a stock-buying campaign to try to win influence over gay-friendly Microsoft.

In his letter, Taylor didn’t use the word “gay” and said only that at the end of the assembly a staff member questioned Hutcherson’s views “on a separate issue.” He also acknowledged another staff member who booed when Hutcherson was introduced.

“For some students, the incident served to overshadow the speaker’s message about equality,” Taylor wrote in his letter. “For others, it sparked discussion about tolerance, respect for others and civil rights.”

In a letter to supporters, Hutcherson asked his followers to “pray that God will use us to stir up society, with grace and love, as we get bombarded with hateful comments.”